September 7, 2007
Lost and Found
FOUND magazine's hook is simple: readers send in items they've found (from handwritten love notes to Polaroids), and Davy Rothbart curates and publishes them. The finds, which appear in the magazine, the best-selling series of FOUND books, or on the mag's website as the Find of the Day, run the gamut from cute to tragic; like PostSecret, it's a way to get an anonymous glimpse inside someone else's life, but unlike PostSecret, participation in the project isn't voluntary.
To support the magazine's fifth edition––the "Crime Issue"––creator Davy and his brother Peter will be dropping by for a free event at the Dakota Tavern (249 Ossington Avenue) next Wednesday, September 12 beginning at 7 p.m. Davy will read from the books, Peter will play songs inspired by some of the found notes. All told, it should make for an evening as strange, cool, and awkward as the magazine itself.
Courtesy of Simon & Schuster Canada, we've also got six copies of the first FOUND book to give away to six Torontoist readers––all you have to do is post a comment (with a registered commenter account) and tell us the coolest thing that you've ever found here in Toronto. Bonus points for including a photo! (Try submitting them to our Flickr pool or a free image-sharing service like ImageShack.) The contest ends next Tuesday, September 11.
Note, discovered in an apartment lobby in Toronto by Jennifer Powell, from FOUND.
|
The coolest thing I've found in Toronto (at least, along the lines of what Found magazine does), was a box of slides taken of a couple's honeymoon in Banff. I bought them for a few bucks in a junk shop.
The photographers, who are no doubt long-divorced, appeared to have visited Banff (perhaps on honeymoon)in exactly the same year (summer of 76) that I did, with my family as a seven-year-old.
Thus their images of the cable-car, mountain goats, et al precisely mimic (and indeed have come to replace) my own memories of that trip. Right down to the shaggy hippies climbing the mountain to avoid the cable-car fare. I fancy that if I looked closely into the shots, I'd see my childhood self in the background.
I'm fascinated by the idea that someday my descendants will find these slides among my own and not know they are not of my life.
The best thing I found in Toronto was a Green Party pin with a frog on it, I wore it for a good year after I found it. I cherish it dearly to this day.
My first year in Toronto I found a collection of polaroids in the gutter along Spadina of people dressed up like kings and queens (wigs, robes and all) wearing ferrio rocher chocolates as thier jewels. Ferrio Rocher earings, rings, crowns, sceptors...the whole deal. I knew then that this was a city I could live it!
The coolest thing i found was this piece of art.
It was leaning on a pay phone near the Queen Mother Cafe and screamed "YOU BREED LIKE RATS". It's a fantastic creepy collage of X'd children, skulls and more text that says "FUCKIN HUMAN CANCER". I struggled with depriving others from seeing it, but i wanted it.
The cooles thing I've ever found in Toronto is a steak. I found it while walking down the street on Spadina.
I posted a picture on my blog:
Street meat
the coolest thing i ever found was a brown paper big that had a "take me" post-it on it, left on the kipling subway line. It contained a mixed CD, an issue of Toro and a pack of smokes.
That was a great find.
Someone on Markham st had cut out the back of a cheerios box that had a bunch of Star Trek: The Next Generation images on it and framed it in this black plastic frame. I'm assuming they got sick of it, and one day as i walked home from a friend's house i saw it. I hung it up in the living from of my very first apartment. I moved out two years later, but left it there for someone else to find and hopefully keep. Who could resist a brood Picard and a nonchalant Data staring out at the stars? Or Ryker's beard? Or that alien chick who wore the purple jump suit...dayyyymn.
I found some crack once, folded up in a twenty dollar bill. But it wasn't that cool because I don't smoke crack.
A few months back I found a Thievery Corporation CD on the sidewalk, case and all, no scratches, perfect condition. Also, the music is great. Bonus!
I always find tons of great stuff in people's garbage (books, coffee table, desk chair, rowing machine, etc.) but that isn't really in the spirit of FOUND is it.
Incidentally, my brother found the coolest thing about a year ago. He was climbing a tree in High Park and found a tiny little leather drawstring bag that was just big enough to hold the polished stone that was inside it. Pretty flippin' awesome.
While walking through Moss Park with a friend a few weeks back, we found two discarded shoes next to a small, but deep hole, surrounded by three pieces of metal fencing. I've uploaded it to the Torontoist Flickr thing. Not really in the same universe as found pieces of paper, etc., but I took this picture hoping that someday it would come in handy, and if I got a free copy of the book then taking it will suddenly seem completely worthwhile.
Dear Torontoist,
Great contest idea. I stumbled on my first FOUND experience in May earlier this year while in London, England and loved, loved, loved it. Recently, it came up again when my friend read me her favourite note from the first issue of FOUND Magazine – it was a note between two girls in class just blatantly swearing at each other. Very funny.
I would love to win one of the six copies of the FOUND book. Hmmm, the coolest thing I have ever found in Toronto? Well, how about a panda? http://img411.imageshack.us/img411/4323/pandatn6.jpg.
Thanks,
Rachel
While it is a rather awkward task to pick six winners out of a possible ten (and all entries were certainly entertaining), congratulations to David Newland, suzanne12thirteen, richelle, MariaPD, canuck086, and mark0, who will all receive a free copy of FOUND!
thanks dave! I am looking forward to receiving the book.
The odds of winning were pretty good, but I still think the whole thing was serendipitous. Thank you for making my day.
I can't wait to tell my former students from Centennial, who had to endure me telling them for two semesters that foundmagazine.com was the "webbiest" website out there...
Thanks, Torontoist and Simon & Schuster!